Cattle-guard



(No Model.)

C. C. KIEFER & L. J. EVERT.

CATTLE GUARD.

No. 596,004. Patented Deo. 2l, 1897.

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m57/ 9 .my 5. 6 @4a/iff f WTNESSES NITED STATES ATENT Enron.

CHARLES C. KIEFER, OF BLUE RIVER, AND LOUIS J. EVERT, OF BOSCOBEL,

WISCONSIN y CATTLE-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,004, dated December 21, 1897.

Application filed August 12, 1897. Serial No. 648,016. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES C. KIEFER, residing at Blue River, and LOUIS J. EvERr, residing at Boscobel, in the county of Grant and State of Visconsin, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cattle-Guards; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvcntion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to cattle-guards for railways, and has for its object to provide a device of this nature which will lie normally in such a position as not to obstruct the passageof a train, but which upon being stepped upon by cattlel will tilt and act to offer an impassable barrier to the stock.

In the drawings forming a portion of this invention, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure l is a plan view of a section kof track provided with our cattle-guard. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 `of Fig. l, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of plate 8.

Referring now to the drawings, in operating in accordance with our invention we arrange intermediately between the rails of the tracks and also at the sides thereof metallic plates 5, which are pivoted near their rear ends to a tie 6 through themedium of ears 7, arranged upon said tie. A second series of plates 8 are pivoted to a second tie 9 through the medium of ears 10, carried by said tie, the pivotal connection of said second platesbeing adjacent their ends farthest from the first named plates, the inner ends of the second plates lying upon the adjacent ends of the first plates and having serrations ll, as shown, the inner ends of plates 5 resting normally upon a tie l2 between the ties 6 and 9. The edges of plates 5,as also the edges of plates 8,are turned upwardly at right angles to the plates to form strengthening-ribs for the latter, and these upturned edges are serrated at 13 and 13', as

shown, for a purpose as will be presently eX- plained. Plates 5 and 8 are, furthermore, provided with supplemental plates 14 and l5, re-

spectively, which supplemental plates are riveted centrally to pla tes 5 and 8 and have their edges upturned and serrated, serving to strengthen the plates 5 and 8 and also in connection with the serrated edges of said plates 5 and 8 to form an impassable barrier for cattle.

The operation of our device will be readily understood by reference to the drawings and is as follows: Cattle approaching the outer ends of the plates 5, which in practice are turned in the direction of a roadway or other place from which it is desired to prevent the passage of cattle, will step upon these outer ends, if at all, the weight of the cattle acting to depress the ends and to raise the opposite ends, which lie beneath the serrated ends of the plates 8. The result will be that the serrated ends will rise, and if the roughness and tilting of the plates 5 has not already turned thecattle will further and absolutely prevent their passage.

It will be readily understood that we may make our device of any desired material, and that, if desired, instead of employing the supplemental plate we may roughen the surface of the plates 5 and 8 by striking up tongues.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. Acattle-guard comprisingaseries of tilting plates having upturned edges, a second series of tilting plates having upturned edges and resting at one end upon the adjacent ends of the Erst-named plates whereby when the first-named plates are tilted they will raise the second plates.

2. A cattle-guard comprising a series of tilting plates having` upturned edges provided with serrations, a second series of tilting p'lates having upturned edges provided with serrations, said second plates each having one end serrated and lying upon its respective first -named plate whereby when the iirstnamed plates are tilted the second-named plates will be raised. r

3. A cattle-guard comprising a series of tilting plates having upturned edges, supplemental plates secured .thereto having up- In testimony whereof We nfix our signa,- tnies in presence of two witnesses.

oi-IARLEs o. KIEFER. LoUIs J. EVERT.

Vitnesses:

C. R. PICKERING, Jos. M. CUBELA. 

